The passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 has been the biggest and most contentious piece of legislation so far this century. In his detailed and insightful study of how the Act came about, and the insider and public battles and changes during its passage, Nick Timmins has revealed the scope and scale of this legislative omnishambles. Nick, together with Professor Kieran Walshe who acted as a specialist adviser to the Health Select Committee during the passage of the Act, will discuss the lessons to be learnt.

Adaptive Policy

Tim Harford is probably best known as the Financial Time’s “Undercover Economist” columnist, and the books that has spawned. He also presents the popular “More or Less” programme about numbers in the public sphere for BBC Radio 4. Tim’s latest book, “Adapt”, argues that to tackle today’s complex problems requires applying principles borrowed from evolutionary science – using adaptive trial-and-error to evolve solutions rather than dream them up from first principles. Tim will explore the implications for public policy making.

The ‘Geek’ Manifesto

Mark Henderson’s ‘day job’ is as head of communications for the Welcome Trust, but he is rapidly becoming better known for advocacy of the better use of scientific knowledge in public policy-making. In his best-selling “The Geek Manifesto” he sets out passionately the case for ‘science in policy’ and the critique of why it currently tends to get sideline. The most famous ‘factoid’ from his book is that only one of our current 650 MPs is a scientist – a ‘meme’ that has already spread far and wide.

Parliament and the Banks

Lord McFall was for ten years, as John McFall MP, chair of the influential Treasury Select Committee in Parliament. Now in the House of Lords, John is also a member of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. From this position John has heard evidence from, and probed, all the key actors in the ‘Great Financial Crisis’ – bankers, regulators, HM Treasury, politicians and others have all come under the sometimes gruelling scrutiny of his Committee. John will offer his first hand account of this experience and the lessons he draws about how we should better control banking in the future.